Nano Banana's AI will soon fill Google Messages with custom memes

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By published

But will they make your chats more... appealing?

A phone displaying the Google Messages logo
(Image credit: Shutterstock / sdx15)
  • Google Messages is testing the Nano Banana AI image generator
  • Nano Banana will likely make and edit images directly within chats
  • The app has a hidden banana icon appearing during image long-presses

Google’s Nano Banana AI image maker is on its way to the Messages app, according to code (and an invisible banana button) found by Android Police. It seems users will be able to edit and possibly produce images with Nano Banana (part of Gemini 2.5 Flash) directly within chats on the app.

The banana-shaped icon that appears when an image is long-pressed inside a message thread is currently dormant. Still, it's likely coming sooner than later as Google continues to expand Nano Banana's presence in its apps.

The AI image model has already rolled out to NotebookLM and Search through Google Lens, with plans for Google Photos already announced. Messages may be next, and if the pattern holds, it won’t be the last.

Nano Banana's role in Messages is still vague, but the dormant icon's location, appearing inside the toolbar after long-pressing an image, is notable. The placement suggests more of a focus on editing existing images over making new ones from a written prompt. That could mean anything from filters and image cleaning to outright meme-ification, all easily done by Nano Banana, presumably through prompt requests or a menu of standardized choices.

Imagine taking a blurry photo of your dinner, long-pressing it, tapping the banana icon, and asking for a “mouth-watering food blog-style shot.” Or responding to a friend’s awkward selfie with a version showing a Tyrannosaurus Rex photo-bombing them.

Message memes

Google's interest in embedding Nano Banana and other AI tools everywhere makes this particular move a no-brainer. Google claims Nano Banana has already been used to create more than five billion images. But so many people already use Google Messages that Nano Banana could become the most widely used AI image tool in an instant.

That doesn't mean there's no competition, however. Meta AI is pushing image generation in WhatsApp and Messenger, while Apple has custom emoji and image generation for iMessage. Even Snapchat has made AI image tools central to its product.

It's not clear when Nano Banana will be in Messages, but you can always try using the new Nano Banana-enabled camera equipment while you wait to tap that invisible banana.

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Eric Hal Schwartz
Eric Hal Schwartz
Contributor

Eric Hal Schwartz is a freelance writer for TechRadar with more than 15 years of experience covering the intersection of the world and technology. For the last five years, he served as head writer for Voicebot.ai and was on the leading edge of reporting on generative AI and large language models. He's since become an expert on the products of generative AI models, such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT, Anthropic’s Claude, Google Gemini, and every other synthetic media tool. His experience runs the gamut of media, including print, digital, broadcast, and live events. Now, he's continuing to tell the stories people want and need to hear about the rapidly evolving AI space and its impact on their lives. Eric is based in New York City.

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